Luke felt like an idiot searching for a quick tattoo flash of a gladiolus flower to give the tattoo artist. Eventually he settled on one and gave it to the artist to stencil, but not before he gave Luke an "it's about time" look.

Once the tattoo was done, he was already in love with it. It was on the back of his arm, just above his elbow, and it barely stung. The thing that stuck with him, was that he felt like Ashton was right. Floral designs really fit him, and he honestly felt like a whole new person. As he entered the waiting area, he scanned around looking for the curly headed boy, but couldn't spot him anywhere. He furrowed his brows before waking up to the front desk. "Excuse me," he said the woman, who smiled at him. "Did you happen to see a boy with dark-ish blonde curls in here?"

"Oh, you mean Ashton?" Luke was surprised she knew the boy by name, but nodded to her. "He left about half an hour ago. Was there something you needed from him?"

Luke felt his heart sink. Ashton was really the only person he wanted to show off his tattoo to, and he was gone. He'd probably never see him again. Defeated, he shook his head and thanked the woman once more before leaving the shop.

———

"Show us the ink, Hemmings!"

Luke rolled his eyes but smiled as he dragged his sleeve up to his shoulder and turned around to let his friends see his tattoo. Their first exclamations were that of awe, and he felt himself smile as Crystal asked, "What made you decide to get this?"

Luke turned around to them with his head hung but still smiling. "There was this guy there who started talking to me about what I was getting," he started. "I still hadn't picked something yet, and it also didn't help that someone-" He pointed a look at Calum "-left me to do it all on my own."

"That's our fault, actually," Michael admitted with a guilty expression. "We thought it might be good for you to do something like this on your own. Sorry if it freaked you out or anything."

Luke smiled at his friend's honesty, nodding his head. "I was a bit nervous, but I got over it. Anyway," he continued, "this guy started asking me what I was getting and if I had anything floral tattooed on me and—" He paused, wondering if he should tell his friends about him basically opening him like a book and reading him like poetry, but decided against it. "He suggested this, and I fell in love with it."

"It does look really beautiful, even after a few days," Calum said softly as he pulled Luke's sleeve up again, tracing the line work lightly with his fingertip. "It suits you, I think."

Luke smiled shyly before thanking him, his cheeks tinting a slight pink color. After, the four friends decided to go to Starbucks and get coffee before Michael and Calum go to the gym and Crystal goes to her friend, Bryana's. Luke was planning on just lounging around the house with Petunia all day, which is probably what he'll do when he gets home.

The four joked and carried on for the whole drive, Luke trying insanely hard not to think about the curly headed boy he had mentioned earlier. Luckily, for him, the drive wasn't very far from his home, so he didn't have a lot of time to reflect. The four friends ordered their drinks and started heading toward a table, when Crystal pulled Luke back slightly. "Tell me more about the guy," she said softly, a knowing look in her eyes.

Luke smiled softly, blushing against his will as he looked down at his hands. "He was," Luke started, smiling wider. "Crystal. I can't even describe him. Sometimes I sit back and think that he wasn't real. That's how indescribable this guy was."

Crystal's eyes shone as she smiled at her friend, hooking his arm in hers as they continued walking. "I hope you see him again," she said softly, leaning against his shoulder before breaking away as they got to their table.

"Babe," Michael said as they sat down, "tell Calum I can really lift 350 pounds!"

Crystal smiled at Michael and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Cal," she started softly, "Michael can lift 350 pounds..."

"Thank y—"

"From his bank account to pay for his gaming systems," she finished, laughing loudly with Calum and Luke, as Michael began to pout.

"You're all bullies," he mumbled, grumbling as Crystal pulled him against her side and kissed his head.

The rest of their coffee date went by like that; seamless and harmless jokes were thrown around the table, most of them causing Calum and Luke to laugh so hard they had tears in their eyes. As their orders were called, Crystal grabbed her two drinks and headed back to the table. "I'm gonna go ahead and head toward Bryana's," she announced, grabbing her purse and sunglasses. "I promised her I'd bring her coffee this morning, and if it's cold when I get there, I'm pretty sure she'll eat me alive."

"I'd like to see that," Michael said with a wink, causing the other three to groan.

"You're gross," Crystal said, leaning down to kiss his lips. "You're lucky I love you."

She then walked over to Calum, placing her lips on his as well, telling him she loved him before walking over to Luke and kissing his head gently. "Have a good day, boys," she said with a smile. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Luke!"

The three boys bid her a goodbye before Calum and Michael stood up to get their orders as well. "We're gonna head to the gym before all the ellipticals get taken up," Calum said as he took a sip of his iced coffee. "Want us to drop you off at home?"

Luke looked outside, smiling to himself. "Nah," he said. "It's nice out today. I can walk."

The couple shrugged before saying goodbye, leaving Luke sitting at his corner table by a window on his own. He couldn't help but feel comfortable as he looked out of the coffee shop window, enjoying the view of the garden outside for so long that he couldn't even remember what time it was.

"I'm starting to think you go everywhere by yourself."

Luke looked up a little too quickly, feeling his face flush as he smiled widely at the curly haired boy. "Ashton," he said, scrambling to his feet. "Hi."

Ashton smiled widely at the taller blonde. "Hi, Luke," he said softly. "What are you doing here by yourself?"

"Oh," he said, laughing gently, "my friends were just here. Crystal went to her friend's, and Calum and Michael went to the gym."

"You don't have any plans today?"

"I was planning on hanging out with my dog," Luke said, making the other lad chuckle, "but other than that, no. No plans."

Ashton nodded before deadpanning, "Sounds lame," causing Luke to laugh. "Mind if I intrude on your 'not plans' for the day?"

Luke could've spontaneously combusted at that moment, trying hard but miserably failing at keeping his cool. "Of course not," he said, a little too quickly. "I mean. Yeah. Yes. You can intrude on my 'not plans.'"

Ashton chuckled again and motioned to the table, the both of them sitting down across from one another. "So," Ashton started, "good to see you again, Blondie."

"You too, Ash," Luke replied with a smile. "Oh!" He pulled off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeve, turning slightly to show Ashton his arm. "Look! It came out really good."

Ashton's face flushed slightly as he smiled. "You actually got it," he whispered, almost in awe.

Luke looked at him, surprised. "Of course I got it," he said like it was obvious. "The most accurate description of me as a person with a suggested image to pair with it? How could I not get it?"

Ashton smiled widely, looking down at the coffee in his hands. "That, oddly enough, feels like an honor," he said softly. "So thank you."

"No," Luke said, "thank you."

Ashton smiled back at the boy, ducking his head bashfully.

"Hey, um," Luke started, suddenly nervous, "I was actually going to ask you something."

"Shoot," Ashton said happily, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Would you mind telling me more about different flowers?" His words were soft, almost afraid, as if Ashton would make fun of him for wanting to know more about botanics. "I was thinking about what you said about having a full floral sleeve, and I agree, it would look pretty damn cool. But," he continued, scratching the back of his neck, "I don't want to just get random flowers or plants without knowing what they represent . I want things that I feel relate to me as a person."

Ashton grinned at Luke, looking at him for a solid moment in silence. He could tell Luke was sincere about his request, making butterflies erupt in his stomach, but he shook the feeling away quickly. "I'd love to," he said.

Luke smiled.